Forestry is important to the people of Oregon. Forty-nine percent of the
state's 61.4 million acres is forest land. The forests provide wood products,
clean
water, fish habitat, scenery, recreation, cultural sites, wildlife, rangeland,
and other resources that contribute to the state's and region's economy
and quality of life.
Mission and Goals
The mission of the College of Forestry, as part of Oregon's Land Grant, Sea
Grant, Sun Grant, and Space Grant University, is to educate and engage the
next generation of scholars, practitioners, and users of the world's forest
resources, to conduct distinctive problem-solving and fundamental research
on the nature and use of forests and related resources, and to share our
discoveries and knowledge with others.
The Oregon State University College of Forestry combines the warmth of a small
college with the rich resources of a comprehensive university. Our students
experience a rigorous, demanding, hands-on, professional education. The educational
environment is warm and supportive.
College of Forestry students are a friendly, close-knit group. Professors
teach their own classes and interact with students daily. They are caring
and accessible—students and professors are on a first-name basis.
Oregon State University's College of Forestry has been educating professionals
for a century. We've earned a reputation as a world-class center of teaching
and learning about forests and related resources. We offer undergraduate and
graduate degrees in four departments, Forest Engineering, Forest Resources,
Forest Science, and Wood Science and Engineering. We also jointly offer an
interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Natural Resources and several interdisciplinary
graduate programs. We operate about 14,500 acres of College Forests, most of
it within minutes of campus. Oregon State University is a Land Grant, Sea Grant,
Sun Grant, and Space Grant university, an NCAA Division I university, and a
member of the Pac-10 athletic conference. It carries the prestigious ranking
of a Carnegie Doctoral/Research-Extensive University.
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Facilities and Programs
The College is dedicated to an educational program producing
perceptive, socially responsible graduates who are capable of wisely
managing the use, production, protection, and conservation of forest
resources, and
of communicating effectively about such resources. The program also provides
scholars, researchers, and teachers for advancing resource science, management,
and utilization.
Oregonians have recognized the importance of their forests and have provided outstanding facilities for our College of Forestry. Peavy Hall and Richardson Hall, home of the College, contain modern
classrooms, laboratories, self-learning, and media centers. Office space is provided for research and
teaching assistants, and most graduate students. Computer facilities include several microcomputer and
GIS laboratories, and other facilities dedicated to graduate student research. Editorial services are
available for papers co-authored by faculty members.
Research conducted through our Forest Research Laboratory keeps the College
in the forefront of new developments in Forestry. Peavy Hall and Richardson
Hall are adjacent to the Forestry Sciences
Laboratory of the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. The
USDI Forest and Range Ecosystem Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey
also has a campus-based research program
that complements and interacts with ours. Nearby is the Environmental Research
Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Collectively, these
facilities and organizations comprise one of the
largest concentrations of forestry and natural resources expertise in the world.
The Forestry Extension and Outreach Education programs at OSU are among the
finest in the nation. Numerous Extension forestry specialists, county
forestry agents, and other faculty provide educational
opportunities, forestry information, and advice for practicing foresters,
the forest industries, forest landowners, and other audiences.
The College of Forestry has a long tradition of graduate education and research.
Our programs provide a solid forestry background and competence in
specialized fields. Employers in the forest industries,
universities and government agencies recognize this strength.
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Research Forests
The College of Forestry has access to two major forest properties dedicated to research and education.
The 15,000-acre H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is in the Willamette National Forest. It is owned by
the USDA Forest Service but jointly managed by OSU and the Pacific Northwest Research Station under
a National Science Foundation-sponsored long-term agreement. The McDonald-Dunn, Spaulding,
Marchel, and Blodgett forest properties, totaling over 13,000 acres, are owned by the College of Forestry
as the results of gifts and are managed solely by the College for enhancement of education and research.
A growing number of Discovery Forests are managed to demonstrate innovative forestry practices for
family forest owners and others.
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Departments
Few forestry programs have the breadth represented by the four departments
in the College of Forestry at OSU. Forest Resources (see information in this
Guide); Forest Engineering (timber harvesting and watershed management) and
Wood Science and Engineering (wood industry management, wood science and
technology) offer undergraduate, graduate, extended education, and research
programs. Forest
Science includes graduate programs in forest biology, extended education
programs, and research programs in the biological sciences. For information
about these
or other programs, write directly to the department of interest or consult
the General
Catalog.
